Information continues to flow in about ESG disclosure credibility problems. ESGToday reports on a new study- the 2023 Fidelity International ESG Analyst Survey, which “surveyed 123 of its in-house analyst from across the firm’s Equities, Fixed Income, Private Credit, and Sustainable Investing teams, aggregating bottom-up information from approximately 15,000 company interactions.” According to the article on the study:
“While most developed-world multinationals have now committed to net zero targets, for example, fewer than 60% are on track to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, according to the survey, which found that only 57% are currently spending enough to hit net zero by 2050, with European companies in the lead at 69%, and North American companies at 53%.
… the survey indicated that more companies may be overstating their ESG claims, with nearly 60% of analysts responding that their companies promote either ‘moderately’ or ‘significantly’ better ESG credentials than their actions justify. This finding was particularly pronounced in the Energy sector, where only 17% said that their companies’ actions at least match efforts to promote ESG credentials.”
Not only must reported ESG data be good and consistent with other reports/filings, it also must clearly demonstrate how the company is fulfilling their goals/targets. This was also one of my takeaways from GreenFin 23.
